he honour of seeing you
before." "That," replied he, "is what I have often lamented; but, I
assure you, I have for many years done you good offices, without being
observed by you; or else, when you had any little glimpse of my being
concerned in an affair, you have fled from me, and shunned me like an
enemy; but, however, the part I am to act in the world is such that I am
to go on in doing good, though I meet with never so many repulses, even
from those I oblige." This, thought I, shows a great good nature, but
little judgment, in the persons upon whom he confers his favours. He
immediately took notice to me that he observed, by my countenance, I
thought him indiscreet in his beneficence, and proceeded to tell me
his quality in the following manner: "I know thee, Isaac, to be so well
versed in the occult sciences that I need not much preface, or make
long preparations, to gain your faith that there are airy beings who are
employed in the care and attendance of men, as nurses are to infants,
till they come to an age in which they can act of themselves. These
beings are usually called amongst men guardian angels; and, Mr.
Bickerstaff, I am to acquaint you that I am to be yours for some time
to come; it being our orders to vary our stations, and sometimes to have
one patient under our protection, and sometimes another, with a power of
assuming what shape we please, to ensnare our wards into their own good.
I have of late been upon such hard duty, and know you have so much work
for me, that I think fit to appear to you face to face, to desire you
will give me as little occasion for vigilance as you can." "Sir," said
I, "it will be a great instruction to me in my behaviour if you please
to give me some account of your late employments, and what hardships
or satisfactions you have had in them, that I may govern myself
accordingly." He answered, "To give you an example of the drudgery we go
through, I will entertain you only with my three last stations. I was on
the first of April last put to mortify a great beauty, with whom I was
a week; from her I went to a common swearer, and have been last with
a gamester. When I first came to my lady, I found my great work was to
guard well her eyes and ears; but her flatterers were so numerous, and
the house, after the modern way, so full of looking-glasses, that I
seldom had her safe but in her sleep. Whenever we went abroad, we were
surrounded by an army of enemies; when a well-made ma